CPS reports [June 2000]

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REPORTS

A Heart for Kids

June 2000

Bibb DFCS observed Child Abuse Prevention Month by hosting several special events for their staff and those from collaborating agencies. CPS di~tribut.ed buttons, ribbons and T-shirts with preven tion messages and held a party to honor the employees for their perseverance in serving faf1!ilies and children . Note the specially designed T-shirt with the logo "Have a Heart for Kids." Supervisor Angela Mock also sent the local TV stations PSAs produced by DHR's Office of Communications.

Legislation Strengthen~ Child
Protection
Anumber of bills passed by this year's General Assembly have a direct affect on protective services, including the following.
SB315 gives physicians the authority to take into temporary custody a child who they believe has been abused. No court order is required in this case, nor is consent from a parent or other caretaker required.
The custody must be based o~ the physician's "reasonable" belief that the child's life or health are endangered due to abuse or neglect. The physician must notify the Juvenile Court or a law enforcement officer within 24 hours of taking custody. DFC~ ~ec~mes. . involved only when 1t 1s given iunsdiction by the court. For more on this, see new CPS policy 2104.4a:
HB712 amends the code dealing with child molestation to include immoral or indecent telephone
Continued on page 4

Re~onsibility and Professional Growth

Inside

GBI Ends Investigation

Here and There
The starting salary increase (from $21,000 to $22 ,044) for new CPS workers is effective October 1.
DFCS' telemedicine project was funded by the legislature for $200,000. This wifl enable doctors around the state to cons~l.t elect~onically with physicians with special expertise in injuries due to child abuse.
The first component of the FACETS intake and basic tracking pilot should be completed by December.
New Hampshire is the latest state to request Georgia's CPS manual to us as a model as tha~ stat.e begins using SOM. Cahforma and New Mexico did the same thing when they revised policy.
The C?bb County Coalition for Child Abuse Prevention honored Paula Coleman with its VIP award. Coleman a supervisor with Cobb's CPS unit, was recognized as a person "whose work is more than a job to her-it is a passion, and it shows in her concern for others." The VIP award is given yearly.

GBI Ends Investigation
While its three-months-long pr?be did not find any evidence of criminal conduct on DFCS' part, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation did find that CPS could benefit from better training, a computeri zed tracking system, and more accountability at every level.
Pointing out the lack of consistency in CPS practice from county ~o county, the report proposed increa~ed. oversight by the OHR Commissioner, consolidation of some county offices, annual inspections of each work unit by a team of auditors/ inspectors and reducing the number of field staff eac~ supervisor manages.
Nine recommendations emp~asized the need for lengthier training and also for more indept0 and more frequent training sessions. The report noted five areas which need to be added to the basic CPS curriculum: inciden.t/scene r~cognition , injury '.ecog~ition and interpretation, interviews ~nd interrogations, case reporting, and court preparation and testimony. It was suggested that DFCS and local \ayv enf~r~ement agencies conduct JOint training on these topics. (see next story) .

GBI-CPS to Offer Advanced
Training
CPS and the GB! are finalizing plans to conduct specialized intensive training for select ' protective services staffers. The staff topics being looked at now for some ?ft.he upcoming sessions include incident sc~ne r~cogn}tion, injury recon~truct1on , interviewing, case reporting and court preparation.
"We hope to offer ongoing, week-long courses to groups of 50, in each of these areas," CPS consultant D'Anna Liber said. "This will give the participants more knowledge of the subject and sharpen their skills."
Trainers will include GB! agents and other experts.
B.I.T.E. Scores Again
More than 300 people learned how to read the medical evidence of physical abuse at the most recent B.I.T.E. sessions. Dr. Randell Alexander of Morehouse School of Medicine and Dr. Robert Reece from !ufts led the day-long events, teaching CPS staff and others how to recognize injuries or conditions that can be attributed to physical abuse such as Shaken Baby Syndrome and burns and broken bones.
The evaluations praised the presenters and the training focus. Comments included: "Well worth the time out of a very busy schedule," "This will allow me to be more effective as an investigator," "The speak.ers were knowledgeable and effective," "Great training. Please ask the speakers to do more presentations for us."

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We Meet Again

State CPS consultant Rebecca Jarvis (L) talked about new policy and policy revisions at the supervisors' conference in Atlanta. Special assistant to the state social services director Judy Fuller presented statistical information.

Kelley Harmon, a program consultant with the Consultation and Support unit (L), enjoys a break with Dougherty County supervisor Glenda Sheppard at the supervisors' meeting.

Mark Your Calendar
l uly 30-August 1: The Georgia Council on Child Abuse holds its annual conference at the rowne Plaza Ravinia in Atlanta. DFCS Director Juanita Blount-Clark will give the keynote speech at the luncheon on Monday, July 31. She will also present the awards for Case Manager and Supervisor of the Year at that session.

UpC<?Jt.ling Tra1n1ng Opportunities
The next one-day B.I.T.E. seminar will focus on the role of substance abuse in child abuse and neglect, including prenatal drug exposure, passive exposure to drugs after birth, and high-risk parenting associated with substance abuse. The sessions are scheduled for September. Dr. Peter Lyons from Georgia State University will be the lead presenter.
Other B.I.T.E. training events are planned for:
November-Building cases for court
February 200 I-Effective intezview techniques with children
May 2002-Physical child abuse injwy reconstruction

Child Fatality Study gets Green
[ight
Astudy to determine what familial factors play a role in fatal child abuse was approved by DHR's Internal Review Board on May 26 and should begin July 1. The results of the study should improve DFCS' ability to identify high-risk families and to identify procedures that are more effective in keeping children safe.
Dr. Nancy Fajman and Dr. Arthur Kellerman will lead the study, using researchers from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Using CPS cases from 1998-99, they will look at risk factors for childhood mortality by comparing families in which a child died (from -any cause) with a family where no child death occurred.
"In cases where a child died, we want to see if there is something about that child or the family that made them more vulnerable," said Dr. Fajman. "If there are certain factors that appear often we'll have information we can use to help prevent some of these deaths."
The study, which is expected to take two years, will also compare the causes of death of children with DFCS involvement with the deaths of other Georgia children to see how closely the causes of death relate.

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DFCS Welcomes New State Staff
Four people who will work or interact with CPS have joined the state office DFCS team. They are Wilfrid Hamm who took over as social services director; Michael Cohen who heads the newly-formed special investigations unit in the social services section; Anthony McClarn who coord inates fajth jn Famjjjes, another new DFCS initiative; and Bebe Jordan who joins the CPS unit as a consultant.
Hamm has 20 years experience in child welfare, including as director of program operations in the Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as interim receiver for the troubled child welfare system in Washington, DC. In 1997 he rece ived the Award for Distinguished Service from HHS.
Cohen has an extensive social services and mental health background. He was executive director of Jewish Family Services in San Antonio, TX and Syracuse, NY, and social services/ intake coord inator with the Illinois Department of Mental Health.
McClarn has a bachelor of arts degree in Political Science and Public Administration and a master of divinity from Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. He was regional field facilitator for the Communities in Schools program and headed the DeKalb County chapter of I 00 Black Men of America.
New CPS consu ltant Bebe Jordan came on board in Apri l. Right now she is working on PUP, Homestead and Parent Aide issues. Her most recent position was trainer in the Office of School Readiness. Jordan's knowledge of CPS comes from 7 years as an investigator in Spalding and Henry counties She has volunteered to help with the picture-taking for "CPS Reports" so if you see a redhead with a camera at the next group meeting, it's probably her.
"Legislation," Cont. from page 1
conversations between an adult and a child under age 16. HB1240 removes the requirement of force as an element of aggravated
sodomy when committed against a ch ild under age I0, and increases the penalties for aggravated sodomy.
The fu ll text of the bills can be found on the web at www.ganet.org

REPORTS
Published by the Georgia Department of Human Resources Office of Communications Tell us your story. What, or whom do you want to read about? Fax your ideas and the name and number of a contact person to Renee Huie, editor,
CPS Reports
Cd 404-651-6815.

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